Sydney, Jan 9, 2012 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Little Sheep Group Limited (HKG:0968) says that its shareholders have approved the proposed acquisition of Little Sheep Group by Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM), the US-based fast food company which owns KFC and Pizza Hut. Regulatory approvals from the Chinese authorities have also been granted. The acquisition of Little Sheep, in which Yum already owns nearly 30%, will further boost Yum's presence in China.

Sinopec Kantons Holdings Limited (HKG:0934) has signed agreements to acquire 50% interest in Fujairah Oil Terminal ("FOT") in the United Arab Emirates from Concord HK. FOT will principally engage in operating oil storage facilities in the United Arab Emirates and will develop an oil storage project with a capacity of 1,125,000 cubic metres in the United Arab Emirates.

Hitachi, Ltd (NYSE:HIT) (TYO:6510) says that it expects to close the transaction of transferring its hard disk drive business to Western Digital Corporation (NYSE:WDC) by March 2012, subject to the completion of obtaining approvals from European Commission and other regulatory authorities. On March 7, 2011, Western Digital Corporation agreed to buy Hitachi Global Storage Technologies, the hard drive and storage business owned by Hitachi for approximately US$4.3 billion.

Japanese software developer Celartem Technology Inc. (JASDAQ:4330) has signed a contract to participate in a smart micro grid project at the Beijing New Energy Industry Base. The total investment for the project is estimated at 124.88 million RMB.

Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited (TYO:4502) says that it will work with Osaka University to develop a platform for practical application and commercialization of nano-particle vaccines. Takeda launched the Vaccine Business Division on January 1, 2012, aiming to expand its vaccine business outside of Japan. The collaboration with Osaka University as part of Takeda's vaccine strategy, will contribute further to the development of innovative technology in the vaccine industry